Wednesday, 23 March 2011

Stepfather arrested for rape

A 36-year-old man was arrested in the Santepheap commune of Battambang’s Som Pov Loun district on Monday, over allegations that he raped his 12-year-old stepdaughter on Sunday.

Anh Kamal, district military police deputy commander, said that the stepfather allegedly raped the victim at least twice according to her testimony, yet he said the number could be as high as six times.

“Every time after raping the girl, the stepfather always threatened to kill both her and her mother if she told her mother or anyone else what happened to her,” he said.

Anh Kamal added that the suspect lured the girl to pick vegetables near a stream and then raped her on Sunday, but the girl was too afraid to tell her relatives until Monday, who then told military police officers.

“Our military police arrested the stepfather on Monday at about 5pm and immediately sent him to the Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Bureau of the provincial military police after he pleaded his guilt,” he said, adding that the suspect has since been sent to provincial court.

In a separate case yesterday, Phnom Penh Municipal Court concluded the trial of a 24-year-old man charged with the rape of a 19-year-old garment worker last year in the Trapaing Thloeung village of Dangkor district’s Choam Chao commune.

Presiding Judge Duch Kimsorn said that Pho Sopheak, a 24-year-old employee of the Suntex Pte Ltd garment factory was charged with the rape of a 19-year-old garment worker on April 19 of last year, after a complaint was filed by the victim.

“Pho Sopheak caught the victim and brought her into his rental room and forcibly raped her successfully. After the raping, he threatened to kill her if she told this to her family members,” he said, adding that the verdict will be announced on April 8.

Pho Sopheak denied the rape allegations in court yesterday but said he had a relationship with the victim previously and had consensual sex with her.

“I think that the reason why I was [arrested] was because her family, especially her brothers, do not like me. They wanted to separate her from me.”